Shuttle replenishing mechanism



April 24, 1951 l. MULATTI ET AL 2,550,287

SHUTTLE REPLENISHING MECHANISM Filed D60. 11, 1948 ZSheets-Sheet 1 i N V EN T'O R Mme Mulstii amt L03; crcuom'm w. wiiaw I. MULATTI ET AL SHUTTLE REPLENISHING MECHANISM April 24, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m n liill... HWMIJHHHHHHI HHHHMF N NWH HHHHWHHHWHMl Filed Dec.

Fatenled Apr. 24, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHUTTLE REPLENISHING MECHANISM Ivano Mulatti and Luigi Cremonini,.Milan, Italy Application December 11', 1948, Serial No. In Italy December 15, 1947 13 Claims; (o1. lea-243) r This invention relates to: cop-changing mecha- 4 nisms for loom-s, and has for an object toprovide an improved mechanism which will introduce a fresh cop into the shuttle when the cop in the shuttle is exhausted, the feeding of the fabric. being momentarily interrupted: without stoppage} of the loom, and to stop the loom at: once without introducing a fresh cop should the weftabre'ak. Mechanism according to the invention comprises: a cop magazine and a guideway disposed adjacent one end oi the slay of the loom; a p1unger movable towards and from the slay andadapted to expel the lowermost cop from the guideway; a weft-detecting fork pivoted on one 1 end of a radius rod mounted on a fixed pivot; a hook reciprocable by the loom mechanism and engageable by a loop on the weft detecting fork; a bellcrank lever pivoted to the radius rod and spring urged againsta stop on the radius rod, one arm of saidbell-crank lever beingforrnedwith aslot;

a cop ieeler pivoted to afixed support and adapt- 7 mechanism of the loom.

The guide'way maybe slotted at one end for passage of an end of the-yarn of each cop.

The plunger may carry a rack meshing witha toothed sector member mounted on a fixed pivot,

said sectormemberbeing spring-urged to turn in a direction to move the plunger away from the slay, and carryinga push ro'd pivoted to thesector member and engageable with a projection on the slay,said push rod being movable into engagenient with the slay by an actuating lever which is part ofthe cop-changing contrellever mechanism; v

A practical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a sectional view taken on line l"l of Fig. 5, showing the cop'echanging mechanism proper; Fig. 2 illustrates the arrangement of the cops in the guideway; Fig. 3 illustrates a shuttle; Fig. 4 is an elevation view of the needle shown in Fig; 3; Fig. 5 is an elevation View of the device showing the cooperative relationship of the various" parts, including the weft-detecting fork and the cop feeler; Fig. Sis a sectional, View taken on line 6-43" of Fig. 5"showing the" weft-de- 2 tecting hook, its reciprocating means and its cooperation with the weft-detecting fork and loop; Fig. l is" a View showing the arrangement of the cop ieelerand associated hook; Fig. 8 illustrates two positions of the weft-detecting fork with respect to the weft-detecting hook; Fig; 9 illustrates parts of the cop-changingcontrol' and feed control mechanisms; and Fig. 10 illustrates the position of the radius rod and bell-crank lever immediately after the weft is broken.

I In the drawings, I denotes the cheeks, and-2 denotes the walls of the cop-magazine and guideway. 3, 3a and 3b are cops, '3adenOting'the-cQp in the shuttle and the cop positioned for replacement," 3 b theeop-in themagazine above 3a, and; 3 the remaining cops in the magazine. At 5is shown a plunger to which is fixed a rack 6 meshing with a toothed sector member- 1 furnished with an extension 8* and-pivoted at 9 to-abrack'et l3. A-push rod I? is pivoted at ll to the exten sion 8 of the sector member, and formed'with'a fork lengageable with aprojection ['5' onthe slay. An actuating lever F4 is adapted to raise the-push rod I2 to' the dotted-line position" HA. At is shown a tension spring connected to the sector I. ll denotes a tongue adapted to sup I port the stack of cops in the" guideway, and 8 represents a slot in one of" the cheeks l for passage of one end t9 of the yarn oneach cop.

A shuttle 2B is formed with a laterally open cavity 2!. 23 denotes a needle fixed at22 within the cavity 2| and formed with an offsetpoint 24 and an eye 25, in one wall of which is formed a slot 26-. I

At 52 is shown a radius rod pivoted at 5.3 to a fixed bracket 51. A cradle 54 is fixed to the radius rod 52. A weft-detecting fork 56 is pivoted at 59 to one arm 6| of a bell-crank lever passing through ano'pening 5B between-the sides of the cradle andpivoted at 60 to a'fixed support, the outer end of the other arm 62- of the bell-crank lever bearing against the cam 63; whichcamis rotatable by a shaft 64. A bell-crank lever 55lispiv oted at 56 to the radiusrod 52 and urged by a spring 61 against a. stop 68 on the radius rod; 52*. At 691s showna spindle carried in bearings it and supporting a cop feeler H and a hook l2 engageable with a slot 13 in one arm of the bell-crank lever 55. i5. denotes the weft, and 1.6 denotesthe reed of the loom attached to the slay Tl. A loop 18 is carried'by the weft-detecting fork 5.5 and is engageable with the weft-detecting hook 51} M denotes a cop-changing control lever and .de-

3 84 and 85, respectively. At 90 is shown the slotted arm of the bell-crank lever 65, and a second arm is shown at 9 I, said second arm being engageable with a stop lever 93, connected to the stop mechanism of the loom and adapted to stop the loom when in the position indicated at 93a. 92 denotes a tongue on the radius rod 52, movable to actuate the cloth take-up control lever 85.

During normal operation of the loom, the cam 63 rotates and causes the hook 51 to reciprocate. The reed I6, in moving to and fro, presses the weft I5 against the weft-detecting fork 56, causing it to swing about its pivot 55 and raise the loop I8 clear of the reciprocating hook 51, as the hook 5! moves in the direction away from the weft-detecting fork 56. Consequently, no movement is transmitted to the radius rod 52.

When the cop in the shuttle is exhausted, there is no weft to swing the weft-detecting fork 56. The loop I8 is engaged by the hook 5! and pulled rearwardly by the hook 51. The weft-detecting fork 56 being pivoted to the cradle 54, the cradle is moved along with the hook 51, the radius rod 52 thereby being caused to swing about the pivot 53. At this time the cop feeler II encounters no resistance and enters the cavity 2| in the shuttle, thus causing movement of the hook I2 to a position where the hook is out of engagement with the slot I3. Since the arm 9| of the bell-crank lever 65 is resiliently held by the spring 61 the slotted arm 90 of the bell-crank lever 65 moves with the radius rod 52 and contacts the lever 84 to swing said lever 84 about its pivot. 86. The actuating rod 88 raises the actuating lever I4, which in turn swings the push rod I2 into the position I2a. When the slay moves towards the cop magazine, the projection I5 engages the forked end I3 of the push rod I2 and pushes the rod I2 rearwardly, thereby partially rotating the sector member I about its pivot 9 in opposition to the spring I 6. The rotational movement of the sector I moves the rack 6 and the plunger 5 towards the slay, the plunger 5 pushing the filled cop 3a into the shuttle 20. At the same time as the arm 90 moves the lever 84, the tongue 92 on the radius rod 52 actuates the cloth take-up control lever 85 which stops the cloth take-up mechanism, thereby preventing take-up of the woven cloth.

A fresh cop having been introduced into the shuttle, in the first flight of the shuttle the weft remains outside of the needle 23, but during the next flight, which is in the opposite direction to the first, the weft passes under the needle 23, past the point 24, and slides over the top of the needle until it reaches the slot 26, through which it passes into the eye 25.

the weft breaks while the shuttle contains an unexhausted cop, there is no weft for the reed I6 to press against the weft-detecting fork 56. Consequently, the loop I8 is engaged by the hook 51 and the radius rod is swung about the pivot 53; as described above. The cop feeler II contacts the cop in the shuttle and is unable to move into the slot 2|. The hook I2 therefore swings into engagement with the slot I3. When the radius rod 52 swings about its pivot 53, the bellcrank lever 65, being held captive by the hook 13, is caused to swing away from the stop 68 in opposition to the spring 61. The arm SI of the bell-crank lever 65 contacts the stop lever 93 and forces it out of a retaining notch. The stop lever, when clear of the notch, springs to the stop position 93a, and the loom stops.

We claim:

1. In a weaving loom having a shuttle for carrying a weft and a slay providing a path for said shuttle, a cop-changing mechanism comprising a magazine and a guideway to receive and position filled cops, a plunger disposed adjacent one end of the slay and movable relative thereto, said plunger being adapted when moved toward said slay to expel one of the filled cops from said magazine into the shuttle, a radius rod mounted on a fixed pivot, weft-detecting means pivoted on said radius rod and adapted to cause movement thereof when said means is reciprocated, a hook adapted to engage said weft-detecting means, said means being so arranged with respect to the weft that it is caused to move out of engagement with the hook to prevent reciprocatory movement thereof when there is a weft in the loom, means for reciprocating said hook, means for moving said plunger toward said slay, and means actuated by movement of said radius rod to prepare said plunger moving means for actuation, whereby a filled cop is expelled from said magazine and into said shuttle when the cop in the shuttle becomes exhausted.

2. A cop-changing mechanism as claimed in claim 1 in which the guideway is slotted at one end for passage of an end of the yarn of each cop.

3. A cop-changing mechanism as claimed in claim 1 in which the means for moving the plunger toward the slay includes a toothed sector member rotatable about a fixed pivot, a rack mounted to eifect movement of said plunger and meshing with said sector member, and means for causing rotation of said sector member upon movement of said slay toward said plunger when the shuttle cop is exhausted.

4. A cop-changing mechanism as claimed in claim 3 in which the plunger moving means has means for yieldingly urging the plunger away from the slay.

5. A cop-changing mechanism as claimed in claim 1 in which the means for moving the plunger towards the slay includes a toothed sector member rotatable about a fixed pivot, a rack meshing with said sector member movable to effect movement of said plunger, a projecting member mounted for movement with the slay,

' 1 and a push rod lever operably connected to the sector member and movable when the cop in the shuttle is exhausted to a position such that said projecting member will contact said push rod lever and cause movement thereof to move said sector member when the slay approaches the plunger during normal movement of said slay, whereby said rack is caused to move the plunger toward the slay for expulsion of a filled cop into the shuttle when the cop in the shuttle becomes exhausted.

-6. A cop-changing mechanism as claimed in claim 5 in which the means for preparing the plunger moving means for actuation includes a bell crank lever pivoted to the radius rod for movement therewith, a control lever mechanism having one element thereof so positioned with respect to said bell-crank lever that movement of the bell-crank lever causes actuation of said control lever mechanism and having another portion thereof so positioned with respect to the push rod that actuation of the control lever mechanism causes movement of the push rod to a position such. that the projecting member will contact said push rod during normal movement of said projecting arm. r r

7. In a weaving loom having a shuttle for carrying a weft, a slay providing a path for said shuttle and a loom stop mechanism, a cop-changing mechanism comprising a magazine and a guideway to receive and position filled cops, a plunger disposed adjacent one end of the slay and movable relative thereto, said plunger being adapted when moved toward said slay to expel one of the filled cops from said magazine into the shuttle, a radius rod mounted on a fixed pivot, weft-detecting means pivoted on said radius rod and adapted to cause movement thereof when said means is reciprocated, means for causing reciprocatory movement of said Weft-detecting means, said weft-detecting means being adapted to be moved out of engagement with said reciprocatory-movement-causing means when there is a weft in the loom, a bell-crank lever pivoted to said radius rod between the ends thereof for movement therewith, a stop mounted on the radius rod, means yieldingly urging one portion of said bell-crank lever against said stop, means for moving the plunger toward the slay, means actuated by movement of said portion of the bell-crank lever to prepare the plunger-moving means for actuation, means for detecting the presence of an unexhausted cop in said shuttle, and means for holding said portion of the bellcrank lever against movement when an unexhausted cop is in the shuttle, whereby movement of the radius rod causes movement of a second portion of the bell crank lever to actuate the loom stop mechanism. 1

8. A cop-changing mechanism as claimed in claim '7 in which the means for detecting the presence of an unexhausted cop in the shuttle includes a cop feeler so mounted with respect to the shuttle that it assumes one position when there is an exhausted cop in the shuttle and a second position when there is an unexhausted cop in the shuttle.

9. A cop-changing mechanism as claimed in claim 8 in which the means for holding said portion of the bell-crank lever against rotation includes a hook mounted for movement with said cop feller and adapted to engage said portion of the bell-crank lever and prevent rotation thereof when there is an unexhausted cop in the shuttle.

10; A cop-changing mechanism as claimed in claim 7 in which the weft-detecting means includes a fork mounted for rotation by the weft during a portion of the movement thereof, and a loop normally in operative relationship with the reciprocatory movement-causing means, said loop being adapted to be moved out of operative relationship with said reciprocatory movementcausing means when said fork is rotated by the weft.

11. In a weaving loom having a shuttle for carrying a weft, a slay providing a path for said shuttle and a cloth take-up mechanism, a copchanging mechanism comprising a magazine and a guideway to receive and position filled cops,

a plunger disposed adjacent one end of the slay and movable relative thereto, said plunger being adapted when moved toward said slay to expel one of the filled cops from said magazine into the shuttle, a radius rod mounted on a fixed'pivot, weft-detecting means pivoted on said radius rod and adapted to cause movement thereof when said weft-detecting means is reciprocated, means for causing reciprocatory movement of said weftdetecting means, said weft-detecting means being adapted to be moved out of engagement with said reciprocatory-movement-causing means when there is a weft in the loom, means actuated by movement of said radius rod to stop the clothtake-up mechanism, means for moving the plunger toward the slay, and means actuated by movement of said radius rod to prepare said plunger-moving means for actuation, whereby a filled cop is expelled from the magazine into the shuttle and operation of the cloth-take-up mechanism is stopped when the cop in the shuttle becomes exhausted.

12. A cop-changing mechanism as claimed in claim 11 in which the means for stopping the cloth-take-up mechanism includes a tongue mounted for movement with the radius rod, a cloth-take-up control lever so positioned that movement thereof is caused when the tongue is moved, and means so operably connecting said control lever to the cloth-take-up mechanism that movement of the control lever stops the cloth-take-up mechanism. I

13. A cop-changing mechanism as claimed in claim 11 in which the weft-detecting means includes a fork mounted for rotation by the weft during a portion of the movementthereof, and a loop normally in operative relationship with the reciprocatory movement-causing means, said loop being adapted to be moved out of operative relationship with said reciprocatory movementcauisjing means when said fork is rotated by the wef IVANO MULATTI.

LUIGI CREMONINI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 914,491 Jamieson Mar. 9, 1909 1,275,487 Snow Aug. 13, 1918 1,752,405 Turner Apr. 1, 1930 1,932,778 Gordon Oct. 31, 1933 2,522,840 Rinne et al Sept. 19, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country 7 Date 13,106 Great Britain of 1904 147,117 Switzerland Aug. 1'7, 1931 147,759 Switzerland Sept. 1, 193'1 

